Authentic Texas Fall 2021

T H E

H E R I T A G E

TEXAS LOCK UP INSIDE THE HUNTSVILLE PRISON MUSEUM

M A G A Z I N E

MADE THEM FAMOUS HISTORIC JAILS ACROSS THE STATE

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T E X A S

HIGH NOON HISTORY RETOLD OLD WEST SHOOTOUTS

T R UE CRIMES Famed author, Mike Cox, shares with us how he became the expert on Texas Rangers and the criminals they tracked down through history.

Looking back at Texas outlaws and historic jails

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This past summer, over 25 organizations and 28 individuals supported Authentic Texas through an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign. Like many other travel-related entities, Authentic Texas has been adversely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic; funds raised have helped sustain our organization which is owned by seven heritage tourism non-profits. The Authentic Texas team extends a hearty “thank you” to everyone who participated in the campaign and who supports our efforts including: Pamela Anderson, Dennis Durkee, Billy Huckaby, Matthew Loh and Dolores Mosser.

recently wrote a short play for reenactments at our museum (Frontier Texas in Abilene) about a tragic shootout that took place in downtown Abilene in 1884 over enforcement of the city’s new laws prohibiting gambling, prostitution and the sale of alcohol. Three men died including a county deputy, his brother a city alderman, and the saloon gambling operator who had already been indicted for murder. These men had known each other for years, meeting first at the wildest town to ever exist on the frontier, the Flat at Fort Griffin.

But few people know the names of the Collins brothers and Zeno Hemphill, partly because shootings like these were too common around Texas at this time and “shootings fatigue” had overcome many newspaper journalists and the audiences of the day. Another reason these stories were controversial is the fact that debates would often linger as to who were the real outlaws and who were the real good guys.

But as the wild west eventually became more tamed by civilization and shootings felt more like things of the past, an industry grew up in telling and promoting the tales of the outlaws. The stories were great at selling newspapers, books and eventually movies. Some of these outlaws grew into household names and are still known in pop culture today. But many are only remembered locally and some of those true stories are more dramatic than the fictional tales we know well.

This issue of Authentic Texas looks at some of those people and the places where the crimes took place and the jails where outlaws were locked up, often now repurposed as interesting places to visit.

We believe these stories will inspire you to get out on the open road and explore these places and recall a time when law had only just started to take root in Texas soil. We know you’ve been sitting at home too much in the past year, so get up and go! The Texas travel and tourism industry is ready to host you and could use an economic boost and would welcome your smiling faces. Find some adventure while you connect to your family, friends and Texas heritage.

Take care and Happy Trails!

Jeff Salmon, Frontier Texas Texas Heritage Trails LLC

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WHERE NO ONE BECOMES HISTORY. THEY MAKE IT.

Come experience 90 minutes of Hands-On Old West Adventure located in the heart of Downtown Abilene. Open Daily.

Follow @frontiertexas on social media or visit us at frontiertexas.com.

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FEATURES

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Au t h e n t i c P e rso n

a u t h e n t i c p l ac e

au t h e n t i c t h i n g

The Seven-Million-Word man, author Mike Cox

The Texas Prison Museum in Huntsville.

The Cinco Peso Coin as the Texas Ranger badge

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Texas Heritage Trail Regions

Founded by the Texas Heritage Trails LLC

The Texas Heritage Trails program is based on 10 scenic driving trails created in 1968 by Gov. John Connally and the Texas Highway Department (now the Texas Department of Transportation) as a tool for visitors to explore the Lone Star State. The trails were established in conjunction with HemisFair, an international expo that commemorated the 250th anniversary of the founding of San Antonio.

In 1997, the State Legislature charged the Texas Historical Commission with creating a statewide heritage tourism program. The THC responded with a program based on local, regional and state partnerships, centered on the 10 driving trails. Today, each trail region is a nonprofit organization governed by a regional board of directors that supports educational and preservation efforts and facilitates community development through heritage tourism.

PUBLISHER Margaret Hoogstra Director@AuthenticTexas.com ADVERTISING Jim Stone Sales@AuthenticTexas.com MANAGING EDITOR Editor@AuthenticTexas.com DESIGN DIRECTOR Troy Myatt SENIOR ART DIRECTOR Steven Lyons CONTRIBUTORS Austin Allison, Betty Bielser, Tammy T. Fisher, Susan Floyd, Loretta Fulton, Douglas Harman, Bob McCullough, Eric Miller, Bill O’Neal, Andy Rhodes, Eric Simpson, Tom Waddill

EDITORIAL BOARD Texas Brazos Trail Region Pamela Anderson, LLC Manager Andrea Barefield, Executive Director Texas Forts Trail Region Jeff Salmon, LLC Manager Tammie Virden, Executive Director Texas Lakes Trail Region Billy Huckaby, LLC Manager Jill Campbell Jordan, Executive Director Texas Mountain Trail Region Randall Kinzie, LLC Manager Wendy Little, Executive Director Texas Pecos Trail Region Bill Simon, LLC Manager Melissa Hagins, Executive Director Texas Plains Trail Region Dolores Mosser, LLC Manager Allison Kendrick, Executive Director Texas Tropical Trail Region Mike Carlisle, Executive Director

PLAINS TRAIL TexasPlainsTrail.com

PECOS TRAIL TexasPecosTrail.com

LAKES TRAIL TexasLakesTrail.com

MOUNTAIN TRAIL TexasMountainTrail.com

FORTS TRAIL TexasFortsTrail.com

FOREST TRAIL TexasForestTrail.com

HILL COUNTRY TRAIL TxHillCountryTrail.com

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TROPICAL TRAIL TexasTropicalTrail.com

AUTHENTIC TEXAS

BRAZOS TRAIL TexasBrazosTrail.com

INDEPENDENCE TRAIL TexasIndependenceTrail.com

Texas Heritage Trails LLC P.O. Box 208 Abilene, TX 79604 AuthenticTexas.com (325) 660-6774 Texas Heritage Trails LLC is owned and operated by seven nonprofit heritage trails organizations.

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DEPARTMENTS LOCAL

LIFE

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Trail Drives

Horseback Outlaws

A sampler of Texas’ notorious lawbreakers

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Texas icon

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History of the Cowboy Bolo Tie The state tie of Texas

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Transforming correctional facilities into centers of art, culture and history

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The Historical Records of Texas Outlaws

TEXAS HISTORICAL COMMISSION

Plunge into Collingsworth County History

Rancher, cattle broker and shootist Robert Clay Allison

Modernizing frontier law enforcement and documenting that process

Bonnie and Clyde

Wild Bunch gangster Will Carver

At Rest in Pecos

Carl C. Williams

TEXAS STATE LIBRARY & ARCHIVES

Streets of Sonora

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Bonnie and Clyde escapades

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texas originaLS

Getting Lost on Purpose

Family farms find creative ways to engage the public with agriculture. Visit the At’l Do Farm’s corn maze near Lubbock or find a maze close to you!

yonder

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Historic County Jails

LEGACY

Clifton’s Cell Block

A distinctive lodging experience

Eats & Drinks

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Decatur The Whistle Stop Café serves up homestyle meals with a side of early automotive travel history long the old Meridian Highway

Deep in the art

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The Story of Watercolor in Texas

From early man to modern plein air competitions, watercolorists capture moments in time

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The transformation of a frontier jail to a world-class art museum

city lights

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Jacksboro Highway

Fort Worth’s historic six miles of vice and violence

Albany’s Old Jail Art Center

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El Paso Shootout

A historic jailbreak becomes educational family-friendly entertainment

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by Bill O’Neal

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Early in 1869 an intense manhunt closed in on Cullen Montgomery Baker, a vicious desperado of early Texas. Although born in Tennessee, Cullen moved with his family to Cass County, Texas, in 1839 when he was four. Cullen grew up hot-tempered and quarrelsome, and he became a heavy drinker while still in his teens.

When he was nineteen, in 1854, Baker killed his first man, and two years later he claimed his second victim. In 1861 he enlisted in a Confederate cavalry troop in Cass County. But Baker soon Cullen Montgomery Baker deserted, joined the Union army, then deserted again and united with a gang of bandit raiders.

After the war, Baker organized a band of thieves and, after a number of murderous depredations, he was pursued by both bounty hunters (a $1,000 reward was on his head) and U.S. soldiers. Baker and a gang member, “Dummy” Kirby, took refuge in a private home in Bloomburg in East Texas.

On January 6, 1869, Baker and Kirby were killed with several bullets apiece and, it was rumored, with strychnine in their whisky. On Baker’s corpse were found a shotgun, four revolvers, three derringers, and six pocketknives. The bodies of the two outlaws were dragged through the streets of Bloomburg.

By the time Cullen Baker was slain, another homicidal young Texan was making his bloody mark on the annals of outlawry in the Lone Star State.

John Wesley Hardin was born in 1853 in Bonham, the son of a circuit-riding Methodist minister. Although named after the founder of Methodism, at the age of eleven John Wesley stabbed another boy twice in a knife fight.

During the Civil War Wes took target practice at an effigy of Abraham Lincoln. When he was fifteen, in 1868, he pumped three pistol slugs into a former slave near Moscow in East Texas. Pursued by a trio of Reconstruction soldiers, Wes set an ambush near a creek crossing.

He shotgunned two of the soldiers and killed the third trooper with a .44 revolver. Several ex-Confederates concealed the corpses while John Wesley Hardin Wes, wounded in the arm, fled the scene.

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died before he left prison, and Hardin soon married a young girl who left him on the day of their wedding.

Hardin gravitated to El Paso, where he drank heavily and ran with a hard crowd in the notorious border town. He vehemently clashed with John Selman and John Selman Jr., both peace officers in El Paso. Old John, formerly a rustler but now a city constable, burst into the Acme Saloon on the evening of August 19, 1895.

Constable Selman fired a pistol shot into the back of Hardin’s head, then shot him twice more when he collapsed onto the floor.

At forty-two Hardin was buried at Concordia Cemetery. The following year Selman was shot to death by fellow lawman George Scarborough, and Old John also was interred at Concordia.

Bloody Bill Longley

Bloody Bill Longley just before his execution.

The young fugitive began to drink and gamble, and there were other shootings. Arrested near Marshall in 1871, he shot a guard and escaped. Soon he left the state with a cattle drive, but after reaching Kansas he killed two more men.

Back in Texas in 1872, Hardin wounded members of the State Police in two separate incidents. In 1873 in Cuero, Hardin murdered a deputy sheriff, and later in the year he killed Sheriff Jack Helm. The next year Hardin celebrated his twenty-first birthday in Comanche. During an exchange of shots with Deputy Sheriff Charles Webb, Hardin was wounded in the side, but he drilled the lawman in the head.

Hardin fled town ahead of an enraged mob, but his brother Joe and two other companions were captured and lynched.

The State of Texas posted a $4,000 dead-or-alive reward on the head of John Wesley Hardin. The fugitive, with his wife and small children, relocated to Florida, and for three years Hardin lived quietly as “J.H. Swain Jr.” But in 1877 Texas Ranger John B. Armstrong tracked Hardin to a passenger train in Pensacola. Hardin’s companion triggered a shot that punched a hole in the Ranger’s hat, but Armstrong shot him in the heart. Hardin reached inside his coat for a long-barreled Colt .45, but the gun caught in his suspenders. Armstrong pistol-whipped and handcuffed his prey, then whisked him by train back to Texas, where Hardin was sentenced to the penitentiary in Huntsville.

After more than sixteen years of incarceration, Hardin was released in 1894. His long-suffering wife, Jane, had 10

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An outlaw contemporary of Hardin’s was Bloody Bill Longley.

Longley was born in Austin County in 1851, and he spent a large part of his boyhood learning to shoot. Bloody Bill murdered Wilson Anderson for killing a relative. Longley next murdered Reverend William Lay, who was milking a cow. He killed Lou Shroyer in a running fight, and two other victims brought his total to five by 1877.

Now a wanted man, Longley fled to western Louisiana, where he rented land near Keatchie. Two lawmen from Nacogdoches slipped into Louisiana and, at shotgun point, “extradited” Longley back to Texas. Jailed in Giddings under a death sentence, Longley complained to the state government that his punishment was unjust because Wes Hardin had received merely a long prison term.

While fruitlessly awaiting appeal action, Longley spent his time writing long, pious letters of regret to various newspapers.

When Bloody Bill finally was executed, five days short of his twenty-seventh birthday in 1878, he plunged to the ground because of

a defective noose and had to be hoisted up and rehanged.

Sam Bass

Like Bloody Bill Longley, Sam Bass both was born in 1851 and he met his end at the hands of the law in 1878. Although born in Indiana, Bass was orphaned during childhood and reared by an uncle. At nineteen the rootless young man turned up in Denton, Texas, and he hired on as a farmhand for Sheriff W.F. Eagan.

In 1876 Bass and Joel Collins led a herd of cattle to booming Deadwood in Dakota Territory.

Bass and Collins soon turned to crime, enlisting a few eager desperadoes and looting several stagecoaches in the Black Hills. In 1877 Bass and his henchmen robbed a train in Nebraska of $65,000, but within several days Collins and two other outlaws were hunted down and killed.

Bass fled to Texas and organized another gang. In the spring of 1878, the Sam Bass Gang staged four train robberies in the Dallas area. Even though the robbers garnered little loot, a widespread manhunt was launched.

Bass next intended to rob a bank in Round Rock, but gang member Jim Murphy betrayed the plan to Texas Rangers in return for leniency. Round Rock, therefore, was teeming with lawmen on Friday afternoon, July 19, when Bass led Jim Murphy, Seaborn Barnes, and Frank Jackson from their camp to case the town one more time before holding up the bank on Saturday.

But Murphy prudently dropped behind his companions, muttering something about his horse.

Bass, Barnes, and Jackson entered a store, where they were accosted by two suspicious deputy sheriffs. The outlaws gunned down both officers and bolted for their horses. Texas Rangers and several citizens opened fire, and Barnes was killed by Ranger Dick Ware. Bass and Jackson galloped away, but Ranger George Harrell sent a slug through Sam’s torso.

The two outlaws escaped into the

growing darkness, but Bass could not stay on his horse. Jackson rode on and escaped, while Bass was found on Saturday and died on Sunday - his twenty-seventh birthday.

Jim Miller

Destined to become the West’s premier assassin, Jim Miller was one year old in 1867 when he moved with his family to Texas from Arkansas. After the boy was orphaned, he was sent to live with his grandparents in Evant. When Jim was eight his grandparents were murdered in their home. The boy was arrested but never charged, then released to live with a married sister near Gatesville.

But the hot-tempered youngster clashed with his brother-in-law, and Jim shot him while he slept, setting the pattern for the rest of his life.

By the 1890s Jim “Killer” Miller was known as a murderer for hire, often riding great distances following a homicide to establish an alibi. An expert gunman, Miller sometimes found employment as a lawman. In Pecos he wore the badges of city marshal and deputy sheriff, but in 1894 he feuded with Sheriff Bud Frazer.

Frazer twice opened fire on Miller in the street, but “Killin’ Jim” survived both assaults and Bud fled to New Mexico. In 1896 Frazer returned to the area, but Miller found him in a Toyah saloon, blasting away most of his face with a shotgun. When Bud’s sister cursed the murderer, Miller threatened to shoot her too.

In 1899 Miller ambushed and killed Joe Earp, who had testified against him during a trial. It took four bullets to finish Lubbock lawyer James Jarrott. “He was the hardest damn man to kill I ever tackled,” admired Killin’ Jim. In 1904 Miller murdered Frank Fore in a Fort Worth hotel, and two years later he killed lawman Ben Collins. Little wonder that when Pat Garrett was bushwhacked in 1908, widespread blame was placed on Killer Miller.

In 1909 Miller was hired to kill Gus Bobbitt, a rancher near Ada, Oklahoma. Killin’ Jim emptied both barrels of a shotgun into Babbitt outside his home, but when he returned to Fort Worth, where his wife owned a boarding house, he was arrested. Texas officials eagerly extradited him to Oklahoma, where he was lynched alongside his three employers.

Even outlaws who operated in other parts of the West liked to vacation in Texas. Rustlers who

followed the Outlaw Trail, which stretched from Canada to Mexico, sold stolen horses in El Paso to Mexican ranchers, then caroused in Tillie Howard’s sporting house and other dives. And in 1900 Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch vacationed in Hell’s Half Acre in Fort Worth, where they posed for a famous photograph. For outlaws of the West’s horseback era, Texas was the place to be.

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MountainTrailAdventures.com FALL 2021

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city l ights

F e at u r e s

The Cowboy Bolo Tie is the state tie of Texas and a fashion statement for men.

Outlaw shootings, crashes, and shenanigans in Sonora, Wellington, and Pecos

The Jacksboro Highway and Fort Worth’s past as a gambling destination.

Mike Cox, the Texas Prison Museum and the Cinco Peso

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The History & Art of the Cowboy Bolo Tie

by Douglas Harman

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y father lived in Arizona for many years; when he died, he left me a classic Native American silver bolo tie with turquoise and coral stones. This whetted my interest in bolo ties. I learned of their practicality compared to the traditional American necktie. The bolo is much easier to put on than a regular necktie. Also, the bolo tie makes the wearer stand out, certifying that he is from the Southwest.

In the 1800’s, cowboys began using kerchiefs for functional as well as decorative purposes. Slides, used to hold the kerchiefs, were often made of braided leather and sometimes from decorative silver. The early cowboy ties evolved to what is known as the American cowboy bolo of today which is made with a leather string tie, cord tips and a decorated silver slide or clasp.

Many of the well-known movie cowboys of the 1930s through the 1950s, including Hopalong Cassidy and the Cisco Kid, wore string ties with attractive silver slides. As a result, the bolo tie — also called a bola

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tie or shoestring tie — became a recognizable and popular alternative to the traditional necktie.

Some tuxedo stores offer simple bolos to wear with their tuxedoes. I have worn a beautiful Zuni bolo with black onyx and mother of pearl inlay to formal events.

Naturally, the bolo tie has become recognized as the unique tie of the Southwest. It is the official state tie of Arizona and New Mexico. In 2007, House Concurrent Resolution No. 12 was filed by Texas State Representative Armando “Mando” Martinez of Weslaco and signed by Governor Rick Perry making the bolo tie the official state tie of Texas.

Native American bolo ties have become recognized as a unique form of American art and have been featured in museum exhibits. Unlike the common cowboy scarf slides, the Native American bolos are made of silver and often decorated with stones from the Southwest.

House Concurrent Resolution No. 12

Bolos from the Doug Harman Collection

DON’T MISS Visit Fort Worth Fortworth.com Fort Worth Stockyards fortworthstockyards.org 58th Annual Fort Worth Show of Antiques, Art, and Jewelry To be held in 2022 Will Rogers Memorial Center 3400 Burnett-Tandy Dr. Fort Worth, TX 76107

luxeshowevents.com/ fort-worth-show-ofantiques-art-jewelry

Hopi, Navajo, and Zuni artisans are well known for creating attractive bolo ties. Zuni bolos are distinctive for the use of beautiful stone inlays. Native American bolos feature a wide variety of tribal symbols including feathers, arrows, and bear claws in their designs.

Some symbols used even go back to those used

by Spanish conquistadors on their horse gear.

I became hooked on finding and wearing bolos and I now have 90 bolo ties in my collection. If you look carefully, you can find bolos in many Texas shops. I have found excellent bolos in the Fort Worth Stockyards and at the Annual Fort Worth Show of Antiques, Art, and Jewelry held at Fort Worth’s Will Rodgers Memorial Center. It is possible to roughly date bolos by the clasp on the back of the bolo slide.

Some bolo ties made by nationally recognized Native American artists, such as Charles Loma, Peter Nelson, or Mark Lomayestewa, feature modern non-traditional design. You can expect to pay top dollar for these bolos.

But there are many bolo ties made by recognized Native American artists available at affordable prices. Ultimately, the most important factor is whether you like the bolo and want to wear it.

WHEREAS, A singular fashion associated with the American West is the bolo tie, also known as the bola tie, which is distinguished by its decorative clasp that fastens a length of cord or string; a staple of the westernwear fashions sported by a large number of Texans, the bolo tie conjures up the romance of the pioneer era and speaks to the determination and independence that figure so prominently in Lone Star lore; and …

WHEREAS, The bolo tie remains popular among many American Indians, and intricate designs fashioned by Native American craftspeople using silver, turquoise, and other materials stand as some of the finest examples of bolo tie artistry; these factors make the neckwear a poignant testament to this region’s original inhabitants and also to the many people of American Indian descent who are today Texas residents; and WHEREAS, A fashion accessory that can be personalized to reflect the wearer’s taste and interests, the bolo tie is well matched to the individualism that is so much a part of the Texan identity; in selecting or designing a clasp, bolo tie wearers are able to express their personal flair; moreover, the selection of a bolo over a standard tie can suggest that the wearer refuses to be bound by convention and relishes the freedom to exhibit a distinctive sense of style even as they maintain a dignified, formal appearance; and WHEREAS, The bolo tie symbolizes both the state’s iconic western culture and the originality of its residents, and it is indeed appropriate that this handsome and unique apparel receive special legislative recognition.

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Outlaw Will Carver Gunned Down in Streets of Sonora

by Tammy T. Fisher

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ver heard of the Wild Bunch?

Sundance Kid? Butch Cassidy? In one of the most famous outlaw photos every taken, is also one of Sonora’s claims to fame: Will Carver (top left), who died in a hail of bullets in downtown Sonora, Texas, while casing the First National Bank of Sonora in 1901.

Born in 1868, Carver was said to have been a “good looking, quiet, nice boy.” In 1880, young Will set out to become a cowboy with his uncle Dick, who had already spent time in 16

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the state penitentiary. In 1889, they joined the crew on the Sixes Ranch west of Sonora. There, Will met those who would change his fate: the Kilpatrick Brothers, the Ketchum Brothers and the love of his life, Viana Byler, a 17-year-old from Dove Creek.

Viana married Will in February 1892 and soon become pregnant. In July 1892, she died of complications of the pregnancy, sending the broken-hearted Will Carver to a life of crime.

Will headed west and in 1899, held up the St. James Hotel in Cimarron, New Mexico.

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Escaping with $50,000 and a posse in pursuit, Will and his accomplices ended up in a gunfight with law enforcement, killing a sheriff and wounding deputies. Sources say Will may have already left the gunfight, but he was already branded an outlaw and murderer.

He joined up with Harry Longabaugh (alias Sundance Kid) and Harvey Logan (alias Kid Curry) and robbed the Winnemucca National Bank in Nevada. By November 1900, the Wild Bunch was together again in Fort Worth, the scene of the famous photograph, decked out in their Sunday Best.

Ben Kilpatrick, Sundance, Robert Parker (alias Butch Cassidy), Kid Curry and Will sealed their fate by having the studio photo taken. It led to their demise as a Wells Fargo detective saw it and sent it to law enforcement all over the southwest.

Travelling to Colorado, Idaho, and back to Fort Worth, Carver, Logan and some newly found brides recovered some of the bank loot and went on a spending spree…then a killing spree around West Texas.

Sutton County Sheriff Lige Briant was notified and recognized Will from the famous photo and the Sixes Ranch, where, ironically, the gang was hiding out.

On a fateful evening in April 1901, Will, Harvey and the Kilpatrick brothers cased the bank, hit a few of the local saloons, and were quickly recognized by Sheriff Briant and his posse. Will reached for his gun, but never fired before being shot by deputies. He died in the Sutton County Jail and was laid out for the public to view in the Sutton County Courthouse. He was buried in an unmarked grave in the Sonora Cemetery, which was later marked by a mysterious veiled woman with a stone which says only “April 2, 1901.” Rumors still fly about where the rest of the more than $80,000 loot might be still hidden.

The Ice House Museum and Historic Jail in downtown Sonora are open to the public Wednesdays through Saturdays where you can see the gun that killed Will Carver, the bed he laid on to die and hear more about his life and death.

DON’T MISS Visit Sonora Sonora Chamber of Commerce 205 HWY 277 N. Sonora, Texas 76950 (325) 387-2880

sonoratexas.org

Ice House Ranch Museum

Following a common custom of the time, Will Carver’s body was laid out in the center of the Sutton County Courthouse (above) so people could view the dead outlaw.

206 Water Ave. Sonora, Texas 76950 (325) 387-3754 Hours: Wed.–Fri. 1-5 p.m.

Sat. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Admission Charged

historicsutton county.com

(Left) Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch: Top left is Will Carver; right standing is “Kid Curry” (Harvey Logan). Bottom left to right: “Butch Cassidy (Robert Leroy Parker); “The Tall Texan” (Ben Kilpatrick); and the “Sundance Kid” (Harry Longabough).

Author Tammy Fisher is a 5th generation Sutton County resident and an Attorney at Law in Sonora; she also serves as president of the Sutton County Historical Society.

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Plunge into History and Legend in Collingsworth County

by Allison Kendrick

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s you are traveling on “The Last American Highway,” U.S. Highway 83, you cannot miss the sprawling Collingsworth County Pioneer’s Park on the banks of the Salt Fork of the Red River.

At first glance, you might notice a couple of historical markers, a giant steel arrow, a covered pavilion and families out camping. Or you might wonder what the river looks like under the bridge you just passed over.

Hopefully, you get out to stretch your legs and investigate these sights.

To your surprise, you see a historical marker in all caps that reads “THE RED RIVER PLUNGE OF BONNIE AND CLYDE.” You’re not mistaken, it is in fact a harrowing tale about the infamous couple known across the United States for their crime sprees.

You see, their fateful plunge just happens to be tied back to the highway you were just on. Before it was designated as U.S. Highway 83, it was State Highway 4. In the summer of 1933, it was completed from the Childress County line to the Salt Fork of the Red River but diverted to the old highway to cross the river on the old 1910 bridge.

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DON’T MISS

Bonnie Parker (far left) fleeing a shootout in Joplin, Missouri, the Barrow gang left behind a camera with two rolls of undeveloped film. Developed and published in the Joplin Globe, the photo images became among the most famous pictures of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow

Collingsworth County Chamber of Commerce wellingtontx.com Collingsworth County Museum 824 East Avenue Wellington, TX 79095 Mon.—Fri. 1-5 p.m.

(806) 447-5327

collingsworthcounty museum.org

The old Pritchard family home, located near the Red River Plunge (top right).

Bonnie and Clyde (bottom right). The Red River Plunge Texas Historical Marker located in the Collingsworth County Pioneer’s Park not far from where the actual crash took place (left).

On the evening of June 10, 1933, Clyde Barrow was speeding down the highway with Bonnie Parker and W.D. Jones; the trio had plans to meet up with Buck and Blanche Barrow at a point near Sayre, Oklahoma. In Clyde’s haste, he missed the detour notices, tore through a wooden barrier, and they plunged into the river below.

The Pritchard family home was located right in this area of the park, about a hundred yards from the river. The family heard the speeding car and the son Jack Pritchard stated, “the driver must be a darn fool.” Upon hearing the crash, the men sprinted to find the vehicle on its side in the river, missing the windshield.

The marker reads in part: “Rescuing the victims, unrecognized as Bonnie Parker and Clyde, they sent for help. Upon their arrival, the local sheriff and police chief were disarmed by Bonnie Parker … Kidnapping the officers, the gangsters fled. In this quiet region, the escapade is now legend.”

Bonnie was seriously burned by battery acid in the crash and had to lie across the kidnapped

officers on the ride to their destination in Oklahoma. For treating Bonnie well during the drive, Clyde left them tied to a tree on the side of the road and continued on. It is said that Bonnie did not receive medical attention from the plunge into the river until about a week later. Due to the severity of the burns, she never recovered.

Only a few months later, Bonnie and Clyde’s crime and destruction came to a final halt when they died in a shootout near Arcadia, Louisiana.

Collingsworth County Pioneer’s Park 4530 US HWY 83 Wellington, TX 79095 (806) 447-5408

Ozark Trail Marker: Wellington Courthouse Square Wellington, TX 79095

Their history and legend live on in present-day Wellington. The Collingsworth County Museum has a display with a glove of Bonnie’s and two magazine clips from Clyde’s automatic rifle which were both found in the river by locals. They also have newspaper articles recounting the action. The 1933 maroon Ford V8 Clyde was driving was pulled from the river and eventually sold to a local family. The car could be seen around town for several years following the incident.

Wellington Ritz Theatre 902 East Avenue Wellington, TX 79095

wellingtonritz theatre.com

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DON’T MISS Visit Pecos visitpecos.com/visitpecos Pecos Area Chamber of Commerce 100 E. First Street Pecos, TX 79772 (432) 445-2406

visitpecos.com

West of the Pecos Museum

120 E. Dot Stafford St Pecos, TX 79772 (432) 445-5076

visitpecos.com/visitpecos/destination/ west-of-the-pecosmuseum2

Robert Clay Allison sits for a photograph while injured | Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Gentleman’s Gunslinger

by Melissa Hagins

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lay Allison claimed, “I never killed a man that didn’t need it.” Known as a cattle broker and rancher, when asked what he did, Clay said, “I am a shootist.” While his life was marked with restlessness, violence, and too many outrageous stories to be properly documented, Clay did not die in a blaze of glory.

Born around 1840 in Waynesboro, Tennessee, Robert Clay Allison was the fourth of nine children. He worked on the family farm until the Civil War broke out; at the age of 21 he enlisted in the Confederate Army. After a few short months he was medically discharged for a condition that doctors called “partly epileptic and partly maniacal,” resulting perhaps from an early childhood head injury. Some 20

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have speculated the head injury may have been the cause of his violent behavior, especially when drinking. On September 22, 1862, Allison re-enlisted and served under Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest.

At war’s end, Allison surrendered with his unit, was held as a prisoner of war and returned home.

Back in Tennessee, Allison was involved in numerous altercations before he moved to Texas with his brothers Monroe and John, sister Mary, and her husband Lewis Coleman.

Allison learned the basics of ranching and excelled as a cowboy. In 1866 he signed on with Oliver Loving and Charles Goodnight and was part of the crew that blazed the Goodnight-Loving Trail. After receiving 300

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Clay Allison’s tombstone in Pecos, Texas

head of cattle as payment from a different cattle drive, Allison homesteaded near Cimarron, New Mexico, and built a profitable ranch.

It wasn’t long before Allison became known as a nice man until he started drinking – then he was a mean drunk with a violent temper. There are numerous stories about his escapades after a night at the local saloon; tales that include shooting out lamps, lanterns, mirrors and making newcomers dance by shooting at their feet. One story tells how Allison rode through the streets of

Mobeetie, Texas, naked except for his gun belt.

In those wild days, grudges were kept until vengeance could be had. In 1874, Texas gunslinger Chunk Colbert arrived in Cimarron looking for Allison.

Nine years earlier, Allison had severely beaten Colbert’s uncle. After finding Allison, the two men spent the day drinking and gambling; Colbert invited Allison to dinner, with plans to kill him.

After the meal was finished Colbert suddenly reached for his gun under the table and leveled it at Allison. Colbert’s gun nicked the table giving Allison time to draw his gun and shoot Colbert in the head. Later when Allison was asked why he had dinner with Colbert, Allison answered, “Because I didn’t want to send a man to hell on an empty stomach.”

Allison’s reputation grew and was widely known. Eventually Allison sold his New Mexico ranch to his brothers and migrated to Sedalia, Missouri, then to Hays City, Kansas. While in Kansas, Allison was described by the Kinsley Graphic on December 14, 1878, as: “His appearance is striking. Tall, straight as an arrow, dark-complexioned, carries himself with ease and grace, gentlemanly and courteous in manner, never betraying by word or action the history of his eventful life.”

Allison married Medora “Dora” McCulloch in 1881; the couple would have two daughters: Patti Dora and Clay Pearl who was born seven months after her father’s death. In 1883, Allison bought a ranch located on the TexasNew Mexico border northwest of Pecos.

On July 1, 1887, Allison was hauling a load of supplies from Pecos to his ranch when he fell from the heavily loaded wagon and was run over by the wagon wheels, breaking his neck. The horses reared and lurched forward; his neck was further crushed by the buckboard almost decapitating him. Allison was only 47 years old and didn’t die in a blaze of glory of gunfire but rather by his own wagon forty miles from town.

Clay Allison was buried in the Pecos Cemetery the day after his death. It is said that hundreds of people attended his funeral. Dora remarried and moved to Fort Worth, Texas.

In a special ceremony on August 28, 1975, Allison’s remains were reinterred in Pecos Park at the West of the Pecos Museum.

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LOCAL

c i ty l i g h ts

(left) Infamous casino mogel and mobster “Cowboy” Benny Binion in 1975 | Wikimedia Commons (right) Ann Arnold’s book, Gamblers & Gangsters: Fort Worth’s Jacksboro Highway in the 1940s and 1950s. (top right) The Casino Ballroom at over 31,000 square feet was the centerpiece of Casino Park. (bottom right) The Showboat, a major nightclub built in 1937 as a replica showboat along Lake Worth. | Photo courtesy Tarrant County

Fort Worth’s Jacksboro Highway

by Billy Huckaby

F

ort Worth earned a reputation as one of the rough and tumble towns in the Old West, and most of the mayhem took place in a part of Fort Worth known as “Hell’s Half Acre.” Located in the general location of today’s Fort Worth Convention Center, “Hell’s Half Acre” had a reputation for alcohol, gambling, and about any other vice a trail-weary cowboy was seeking.

Unfortunately, it was also the location of its share of violence, including the famous gunfight between Luke Short and Jim Courtright. Courtright lost.

Although “Hell’s Half Acre” gave way to progress in the late 1800s, another part of Fort Worth soon earned a rough and tumble reputation offering all of the vices of “Hell’s Half Acre” and violence on a larger and more organized scale. The Jacksboro Highway became one of the most famous stretches of asphalt that rivaled the Vegas Strip or Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

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FORT WORTH

LAKES TRAIL REGION

Stretching from near downtown to Lake Worth, the roughly six miles of Highway 199 made its reputation following World War II and stretched into the early-1950s. The road was lined with popular hangouts such as the Four Dueces, the Casino Ballroom, and the Silver Dollar Tavern. They ran the gamut from simple bars to fullblown casinos and showrooms. There was even a floating club called The Showboat moored on Lake Worth.

While the area was created for fun and recreation, it also attracted the violence that permeated Hell’s Half Acre. Ann Arnold chronicled the infamous days of the Jacksboro Highway in her book, Gamblers & Gangsters: Fort Worth’s Jacksboro Highway in the 1940s and 1950s. Her book documents the murders and mayhem where the methods of killing included guns, knives and bombs.

Most of the violence stemmed from the battle to control the area, with Benny Binion pitted against Herbert “The Cat” Noble. The duo had a long-running battle that stretched from Dallas to Fort Worth as each man wanted to control the illicit activities of the time that included loan sharking, gambling and prostitution.

Noble earned his nickname “The Cat” because he survived roughly a dozen attempts on his life, most

attributed to Binion. Noble’s cat-like luck ran out in August of 1951 with an exploding mailbox that ended his life while Binion went on to gambling fame in Las Vegas with his Horseshoe Casino.

Like Las Vegas, Jacksboro Highway had a reputation as the place to enjoy some of the biggest names in showroom entertainment, including big band leaders Tommy Dorsey and Harry James. The area also attracted some of the biggest stars of the day, including Dorothy Lamour and Bob Hope.

While gambling was against the law in Texas, it flourished on Jacksboro Highway until 1951, when local law enforcement cracked down and indicted more than thirty men for the illegal activity. With the pressure from the law and bad publicity, Jacksboro Highway went into decline, and the bars and showrooms gradually faded away. In the end, there were at least seventeen gangsters with ties to the area that were murdered, and that also added to the demise.

Today the area has given way to used car lots and fast-food establishments, but there are remnants of Jacksboro Highway’s earlier era that can still be seen including the Avalon Motor Court and the building that housed the Rocket Club.

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Authentic Person

THE

SEVEN

MILLION WORD Mike Cox, Texas Author

MAN BY

BOB

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MCCULLOUGH

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“Prolific” cannot begin to describe Mike Cox, the celebrated Texas author of more than 30 non-fiction books and hundreds of magazine articles, newspaper columns and essays. Now at age 72, the Amarillo native continues to tackle massive writing projects and, in so doing, uphold family traditions.

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y grandfather was a longtime newspaperman and spent more than 60 years as a freelance writer,” Cox says.

“His daughter also worked for a time as a reporter. In fact, she met my future dad, who was a reporter in Amarillo, while covering a sensational murder trial – as competitors – in Sweetwater. I tell people I’m the product of two of man’s more singular acts, one of them being murder.”

His granddad and parents eventually moved on from daily journalism, but all of them continued for the rest of their lives as freelance writers. By the time he was 10, Cox knew he wanted to join the “family business.” He started writing in high school and sold his first magazine article to The Cattleman in 1964 for a whopping $35. His first newspaper job was writing a high school news column at $5 apiece for the Austin American-Statesman in 1965.

Cox worked as a full-time reporter at the San Angelo Standard-Times while majoring in journalism at Angelo State University, “a fact reflected in my GPA.” In the fall of 1969, having moved northward to the larger Avalanche-Journal in Lubbock for a bigger paycheck, he transferred to Texas Tech University. “The following spring, I helped cover the aftermath of the devastating Lubbock tornado, which killed 26,” he recalls. “At the end of my junior year, missing water, trees and 35-cent longnecks, I moved back to Austin to go to work for the AmericanStatesman.” He dropped out of the University of Texas his senior year in favor of a day job on the newspaper, but in his early 40s, he went back to college at Texas State University in San Marcos.

“I had 130 hours or so of credits but never graduated,” he says. “Now I laughingly tell folks I’m holding out for an honorary doctorate. I regret I didn’t get that piece of paper, but someone whose judg-

I was the guy you saw on TV, heard on the radio or quoted in the newspaper any time something terrible or weird happened in Texas… ment I respect once told me that each of quite a few of my books would amount to a doctoral dissertation given the amount of research that went into them.”

Of the many books he’s authored, Cox won’t say which one is his favorite because it’s like asking a parent which one of their children they like best. Yet he’s quite proud of his two-volume, 250,000-word history of The Texas Rangers, which was published in 2008-2009 and continues to sell well.

“In my history of the Rangers, with apologies to Clint Eastwood, I tried to tell the good, the bad and the ugly,” Cox says.

“At times, the 19th- and early-20th-century Rangers got out of line, but I think they did more good for Texas than bad. Lately, it’s been popular to villainize them, but I think the truth – as with most things – is somewhere in middle. I favor truth in history,

but not taking down monuments.

Monuments enable future generations to be able to talk about the heroes and the bad guys. It’s important to know both.”

Another of Cox’s favorite books is Train Crash at Crush: America’s Deadliest Publicity Stunt. “It’s the story of the so-called Crash at Crush, in which the old Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad deliberately crashed two obsolete steam locomotives head-to-head,” he explains. “The idea was to make money from the sale of excursion tickets to a special venue the railroad built near the small town of West north of Waco. Some 40,000 to 50,000 people descended on the hastily constructed depot named for William G. Crush, the railroad official who spearheaded the event, making it the largest ‘city’ in Texas for the day.

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Henry Lee Lucas

For better or worse, I helped make Lucas famous.

1896, and would have been – pun intended – a smashing success except for the fact the locomotive boilers exploded, sending hot shrapnel flying into the crowd, but amazingly, only two people died as a direct result of the collision. My book about the crash is under option for a possible movie, but we’ll see.”

One of Cox’s best-sellers is a true crime book, The Confessions of Henry Lee Lucas, the notorious serial killer.

“For better or worse, I helped make Lucas infamous,” Cox says. “In the summer of 1983, I got a tip from an Austin homicide cop that a possible serial killer was in jail in Montague County, so I flew to North Texas the same day to look into it. I happened to be in the courtroom when Lucas first blurted out that he had killed 100 women. The next day my story – rewritten by the Associated Press – attracted national and international interest. Later, when Lucas was in the Williamson County Jail in Georgetown, the sheriff let me interview him in his cell. For a while, I had a standing Tuesday night ‘date’ with Lucas.”

Cox ultimately got a call from an editor in New York asking if he’d like to do a book about Lucas. A revised 30th anniversary edition of that book, renamed The Confessions of a Killer, was published in the spring of 2021.

Cox jokingly says that he writes “just 28

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about anything someone will pay me for.”

Actually, he’s written everything from biography to folklore to history to a book on commercial diving. “The only thing I haven’t done is fiction,” he notes, “and at this point in my career, though I always thought I’d eventually write a novel, I doubt that I’ll ever get around to it. But who knows?

Maybe someday.”

His “problem” is having more ideas than he can handle. He grew up hearing good stories from his grandfather and parents, and he’s been seeking good stories ever since. When he decides to pursue a particular topic, he’s inclined “to over-research my books” because he loves “the thrill of the hunt when collecting material for a magazine article or book,” a habit he developed in his newspaper days. When it’s time to write, he strives for a conversational, interesting style, with a little humor thrown in when it’s appropriate.

Writing has been the central theme of Cox’s career, but there have been other fascinating chapters along the way. After almost 20 years as a newspaperman, he became spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety in 1985.

“During that time, I was the guy you saw on TV, heard on the radio or quoted in the newspaper any time something terrible or weird happened in Texas, which was quite often,” he says. “One of my worst expe-

riences was handling the 1991 mass murder at the Luby’s Cafeteria in Killeen. Not long after the shooting stopped, I was walking among the bodies of the victims trying to get information to provide to the media.

“But that was nothing compared to the 1993 Branch Davidian standoff in McLennan County near Waco. There were some 500 journalists from around the world, and the pressure was intense. I wanted to tell the public as much about it as I could, but the Feds wanted me to say as little as possible. I was involved significantly after the fire when the Texas Rangers were trying to get to the bottom of what happened.”

He later served as communications manager for the Texas Department of Transportation before retiring in 2007.

Retiring from retirement in 2010, he went back to work as spokesperson for Texas Parks and Wildlife. He left the 8-to-5 world for good in February 2015 to write full time from his home in Wimberley.

Cox firmly believes “the writing life is a great life,” and in his case, the rewards – and awards – have been significant. In 1993, he was elected to the Texas Institute

of Letters, an honor society founded in 1936 to celebrate the state’s most-respected writers. He was awed to be inducted the same year as journalist Bill Moyers and novelist James Michener.

In 2010, Cox received the A. C. Greene Award, presented annually by the Abilene Public Library to a distinguished Texas author for lifetime achievement. The honor was all the more special since Cox knew Greene, an author, columnist and Abilene native. Cox also earned a Will Rogers medallion in 2014 for his book about Dean Smith – Cowboy Stuntman: From Olympic Gold to the Silver Screen.

For the benefit of up-and-coming writers, Cox has donated his writing-related papers including correspondence and research material to the Southwest Writers Collection at Texas State University and to several other Texas universities.

“What I am most proud of is that the fast-growing San Marcos Public Library agreed several years ago to accept my Texana collection, some 6,000-plus Texas books,” he says. “The collection’s named after me and gives the San Marcos library a college- or small university-level resource.

I wanted to tell the public as much about it as I could, but the Feds wanted me to say little as possible.

Just a few of the words used to describe Mike Cox: newspaperman, spokesperson, historian, award-winning and best-selling Texas writer.

As a longtime book collector, I was very relieved to know that the collection I worked so long to build would not be broken up in an estate sale someday.”

As for other book topics he’d like to pursue, Cox claims to be afraid of running out of time before running out of ideas.

He’s working on an ambitious series of five books called Finding the Wild West.

They’re travel guides to all 23 states west of the Mississippi, broken down by region. He got the idea from his best-selling Gunfights and Sites in Texas Ranger History, published in 2015.

He’s also under contract for Wicked San Antonio, which spotlights little-known scandals and crimes in the history of the Alamo City, including the West’s last train robbery – the 1970 holdup of the miniature Brackenridge Eagle in Brackenridge Park.

In addition, he’s working on a memoir about his family’s three-generation newspaper story, Blood and Ink. Cox just finished a how-to book called Seven Million Words: Writing and Selling Nonfiction. The title comes from the number of words he estimates he’s put down on paper or up on a computer screen over the years. “Writing has afforded me many experiences most people never have,” he says, “and hopefully, as I get older, writing will continue to keep my mind as sharp as possible. In a nutshell, my advice to anyone wanting to become a writer is simple as 1, 2 with no 3. Read a lot, and then start writing.

You learn to be a writer by keeping at it, day after day, whether you feel like it or not.”

By keeping at it, super-prolific, award-winning author Cox might have to change his “nickname” of “Seven-MillionWord Man” to an even loftier number.

His avid readers certainly hope so.

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by Tom Waddill

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In existence since 1989, the nonprofit Texas Prison Museum features numerous exhibits to include Old Sparky,” the state’s retired electric chair (upper left), artifacts related to Bonnie and Clyde (upper middle); and the Carrasco siege (bottom right). Travelers along Interstate 45 at Huntsville are greeted by a massive statue of Sam Houston (upper left).

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yes wide open, Steve Schwartz takes a long look at “Old Sparky” and reads about “riding the thunderbolt.” “This is crazy,” Schwartz said with excitement. “That’s the electric chair the state of Texas used for more than 300 executions.”

That’s right. “Old Sparky,” which earned its nickname from inmates nearly 100 years ago, sits in a prominent place in the newly renovated Texas Prison Museum. The chair which electrocuted 361 men from 1924 to 1964 has a new home in Huntsville where visitors from all over the world can see it, learn the history of the death penalty in Texas and find out what has actually happened inside Lone Star State prisons.

That’s the number one goal for the folks in charge of the Texas Prison Museum.

They want people to hear true stories — facts, not fiction — about life (and death) inside Texas prisons.

“We want to make sure people know our history, and a lot of our history is not pretty,” said David Stacks, a former warden who is now the director of the Texas Prison Museum. “We don’t want to change history and we aren’t going to sugar-coat it.”

True stories of Bonnie and Clyde come alive inside the Huntsville Museum, which

attracted more than 35,000 guests from around the world in 2019. Visitors can read about the Barrow gang’s breakout from the Eastham Prison, plus the subsequent deaths of Bonnie and Clyde at the hands of former Texas Ranger Frank Hamer.

Guests also can go back in time to the Carrasco siege at the “Walls” Unit in Huntsville in the summer of 1974. Using smuggled pistols and ammunition, Federico “Fred” Carrasco and two other inmates took 11 prison workers and four inmates hostage in the prison library.

Following a grueling 11-day standoff, Carrasco and the other convicts tried to escape by moving out of the library toward a waiting vehicle. The trio of inmates and four hostages surrounded themselves with a makeshift shield consisting of legal books taped to mobile blackboards that was later dubbed the “Trojan Taco” by members of the press who were covering the event.

Acting on a prearranged plan, prison guards and Texas Rangers blasted the group with fire hoses. However, a rupture in the hose gave the convicts time to fatally shoot the two women hostages who had volunteered to join the convicts in the armored car. When prison officials

returned fire, Carrasco committed suicide and one of his two accomplices was killed.

From dangerous weapons created by inmates from contraband to fine furniture crafted by Texas offenders, all are on display here.

Visitors can go inside a life-sized prison cell and learn all about the Texas Prison Rodeo. There are photos and stories of the famous, and infamous, inmates who have spent time in Texas prisons. The powerful work of photographer Barbara Sloan is also prominently displayed. For years, Sloan documented with pictures the victims of violent crime and the families of death row inmates.

“One thing people will learn is there’s a lot of distorted history out there,” Stacks said. “We tell the true history; we tell the facts. For instance, people have always said that when there was an electrocution years ago, the lights would dim in Huntsville.

That’s not true … Hollywood also made Bonnie and Clyde out to be good people.

They were not good people.”

“Our museum sets the record straight.

The Texas Prison Museum is really an interesting place.”

DON’T MISS Visit Huntsville Huntsvilletexas.com Texas Prison Museum 491 TX-75 N. Huntsville, TX 77320 (936) 295-2155 Hours: Mon.—Sat. 10am-5pm Sun. Noon-5pm Admission Fees Charged

txprisonmuseum.org

Sam Houston Statue Visitor Center & Gift Shop 7600 TX-75 Huntsville, TX 77340 (936) 291-9726

huntsvilletexas. com/148/Sam-HoustonStatue-Visitor-Center Sam Houston Memorial Museum

1836 Sam Houston Ave Huntsville, TX 77340 (936) 294-1832

Home of Sam Houston As one of the oldest towns in Texas, Huntsville boasts today of historic museums, arts and culture, outdoor activities and a Main Street downtown. Located in the East Texas Piney Woods between Houston and Dallas on Interstate 45, Huntsville is proud to be the Walker County seat and home to Sam Houston State University, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and Huntsville State Park.

The city was founded in 1835 as an Indian trading post by Pleasant and Ephraim Gray and was named for the Gray family’s former home of Huntsville, Alabama. Just a few years later, Huntsville was home to many influential and prominent early Texians, including Sam Houston. The Sam Houston Memorial Museum is located on 15 acres of the Houston family’s original homestead and celebrates the life of General Sam Houston. The final resting place for Houston is at the historic Oakwood Cemetery. A colossal statue of Sam Houston is visible from the south for six and a half miles to travelers on Interstate 45; standing at 77 feet, it is known as the world’s largest statue of an American hero. Pull in and pay tribute and then spend some time exploring Huntsville.

samhoustonmemorial museum.com Huntsville State Park 565 Park Road 40 W Huntsville, TX 77340 (936) 295-5644

tpwd.texas.gov/stateparks/huntsville The Wynne Home Arts Center 1428 11th Street Huntsville, TX 77340 (936) 291-5424

huntsvilletx.gov/304/ The-Wynne-Home-ArtsVisitor-Center The Gibbs-Powell Home

1228 11 St. at Avenue M Huntsville, TX 77340 (936) 435-2497 (936) 291-9726 Hours: Tues-Fri 12-5 PM Sat 12-4 PM And by appointment Admission Fees Charged

walkercountyhistory. org/wc-museum.php

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THE CINCO PESO BADGE When is a Cinco Peso coin not a coin?

When it’s a Texas Ranger badge.

Photo by porqueno / Adobe Stock 307781705

by Eric Miller

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badge is something we recognize.

It’s an emblem that identifies a person and frequently their position and their training. Police, sheriffs and deputy sheriffs, firemen and women, emergency medical technicians, the Secret Service, the FBI and a whole slew of government offices rely on badges for identification. Even utilities and private companies have issued ID badges to their employees so we have a high comfort level when we open our front door.

Above: Considered the earliest authentic style of Ranger badge, it was worn by a member of Ira Aten’s. © 1880s Texas Ranger badge on display at the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum in Waco.

Left top: Photograph of Texas Rangers. Shown are: (L-R) Charlie Price, John Caraway, Charlie Blackwell and Will Erskin. | Courtesy Cattle Raisers Museum Left bottom: Photograph of Texas Rangers in 1915 during the Mexican bandit trouble. Shown are: (L-R) John Cordway, Deputy Sheriff; Clint Adkins; Edgar Turcotte, Deputy Sheriff; T. Armstrong; and Charlie Armstrong, Rancher. | Courtesy Cattle Raisers Museum

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But in this world, and certainly our state of Texas, some badges just top all others. That is the case with a Texas Ranger badge. Before “Walker, Texas Ranger” started coming into our homes with a badge as big as our television screen, we have known about this elite law enforcement group. With a reputation for toughness and fairness, Texas Rangers protected the earliest settlers of Texas (maybe numbering in the hundreds) and they continue to protect over 29 million, 21st century residents of Texas. They are a point of pride in the state of Texas.

Over all the years, some outlaws stayed on the run, but many more stopped in their tracks after seeing the badge, knowing that the Texas Rangers were on their trail.

Like each Texas Ranger, the badge they carry or wear is unique. In fact, when Stephen F. Austin formed the Rangers in 1823 to protect the Old Three Hundred, they did not have a badge. The first Texas Rangers may have had a written letter of commission, which did carry a lot of weight. But it’s hard to picture a hardened cattle rustler paying much attention to a piece of paper.

Heck, they may not have been able to read it.

So, during the early years Texas Rangers relied on a good horse and a reliable gun. “The saying goes, ‘God created men, Colonel Colt made them equal,’” historian Michael Grauer, McCasland Chair of Cowboy Culture at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, says.

He suggests the idea of a frontier militia dates to 1713 with the development of the Compania Volante. The Compania’s goal was to protect the frontier of New Spain, just as the Texas Rangers’ goal became protection along Texas’ frontier. The Compania Volante also influenced the formation of Ranger organizations in Arizona, California, Colorado and New Mexico.

The idea of a badge is simple and it dates to the Middle Ages, according to Byron Johnson, Director of the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum in Waco. Large armies needed a way to identify friend or foe. A crest on a tunic or

Texas Ranger statue outside of the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum in Waco.

100 Texas Ranger Trail, Waco, TX 76706 (254) 750-8631 texasranger.org

Far right: Photograph of five Texas Rangers outside of the Brite Ranch near Marfa, Texas. L-R: Boone Oliphant, Lee Trimble, Clint Holden, Billie Duncan, and Jack Murdock. | Courtesy Marfa Public Library

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“THE MAJOR ISSUE FOR COLLECTORS OF THE TEXAS RANGER BADGE IS FRAUD...

IT’S THE MOST SOUGHT-AFTER LAW ENFORCEMENT ARTIFACT IN THE WORLD.”

shield was a way to make that identification during the heat of hand-to-hand combat.

Five hundred years later, on the border of Austin’s colony and Mexico, and then along the frontier of Texas, identification was also important. And badges slowly came into use.

Why the Cinco Peso coin? Probably two reasons. First, it has a high silver content, making it both valuable and very workable. Second, and for a long time more important, it wasn’t a U.S. or Texas coin so defacing it was not against the law.

The first badge may have been linked to Ranger Leander McNelly, a member of the Special Force of the Texas Rangers established in 1875 that was charged with ending cattle rustling in the infamous Nueces Strip. McNelly’s badge was probably a gift from local ranchers and while it has been described in authentic documents, it has not survived, according to Johnson.

The earliest surviving badge belonged to Texas Ranger Ira Aten and dates to the 1880s. Early badges, like the Aten badge, were more than likely gifts and were crafted by a local silversmith or the Ranger himself. Even then the preferred starting point was a Mexican coin (the Aten badge

started as a Mexican Ocho Peso coin).

In 1935 the Texas Ranger badge was based on a shield design for the Highway Patrol. A 1950-era badge issued to the Rangers featured blue enamel paint and became known as the blue bottle cap badge, according to Johnson. Neither caught on with the rank and file.

It wasn’t until 1961, when Homer Garrison, Jr. was head of the Texas Department of Public Safety, that the circle/star badge created from the Cinco Peso coin was issued by the state to all Texas Rangers. Texas Ranger Hardy L. Purvis donated the initial batch of Cinco Peso coins so all 62 Texas Rangers could be issued a badge. Purvis made the donation in memory of his father, Texas Ranger Captain Hardy B. Purvis, and his mother.

In 2021, modern badges are made by three silversmiths/engravers in the state (one in Fort Worth, one in Bandera and one in Clarendon). Before anyone can start work, they need a letter of authorization from the Chief of the Texas Rangers to give them permission to complete the work. They use either the 1947 or 1948 Cinco Peso coin almost exclusively. Each coin goes through dozens of steps and countless hours of artistic effort to morph into a badge with a domed star and a flat rim. Badges are now part of the standard equipment issued to a Texas Ranger; visit this link to see the full equipment list (https://www.texasranger. org/texas-ranger-museum/texas-rangers/ standard-issue-equipment/).

The major issue for collectors of the Texas Ranger badge is fraud, Johnson says.

The Texas Ranger badge is among the most sought-after law enforcement artifact in the world, according to Johnson. With only a few hundred individuals in the Texas Rangers during the organization’s 198-year history, the potential supply of original Texas Ranger badges is very small. To this day, when a Ranger dies, most bequeath their badge to their family, he explains.

“Unless you know the seller of the badge or can trace its possession by a Texas Ranger’s family through the years, authentication becomes a real problem,” Johnson says. Serious collectors who are able to do their research will pay amazing sums of money for authentic badges, Johnson says.

Similarly, beginning collectors who do not complete their research will probably pay amazing sums for a fake Texas Ranger badge.

It was easy for me to locate more than one Texas Ranger badge for sale on the internet. Some were clearly marked as replicas but not one was the real thing.

It’s easy to think the badge gives a Texas Ranger his authority. It doesn’t. A Texas Ranger derives his or her authority from their commission and what it represents.

Earning the Cinco Peso badge is one of the hardest things to accomplish in law enforcement. Some classes have more than 100 candidates for one position, Johnson explains. He figures that the Texas Rangers intend to keep it that way.

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LIFE

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H i stor ic Jai l Museums

Ac t i v i t i e s f o r t h e fa l l

E at s & D r i n ks

Art

Transforming historic county jails into silos for historical and cultural heritage.

Getting lost in At’l Do Farms in Lubbock and other corn mazes.

Homestyle cooking at the Whistle Stop Café.

Texas watercolors, a world-class museum and shoot-out entertainment.

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LIFE

T rai l d r i v e

DON’T MISS Historic Anderson County Jail

Comfortably Lodged Transforming historic county jails into silos for historical and cultural heritage.

by Austin Allison

B

e it a witty euphemism or a roundabout slap in the face, describing a county jail’s occupants as “comfortably lodged” evokes intriguing thoughts about jailhouse conditions in years past. This term, along with other colloquial language, is sprinkled across regional newspapers detailing the periodic happenings of the local penitentiary and their incarcerated population, but it has also become an accurate way to describe how some commu40

AUTHENTIC TEXAS

704 Avenue A, Palestine, TX 75801 (903) 373-8158

visitpalestine.com/business/ historic-anderson-county-jail Austin County Jail Museum 36 South Bell Street Bellville, Texas 77418 (979) 877-8814

austincounty.com/page/austin. museum nities have transformed their old jails into museums.

The evolution from lodging inmates to lodging history was not and is not easy, but it embodies a natural progression of these historic structures to assume new roles as cultural heritage centers. From the walls and bars of the structure itself to the inmates confined within, each county jail experienced its fair share of events that shaped the development of a region acting as a symbol of criminal justice

Brown County Museum and Jail 212 North Broadway Brownwood, Texas 76801 (325) 641-1926

browncountymuseum.org Clay County 1890 Jail Museum

116 North Graham Henrietta, Texas, 76365 (940) 538-5655

claycountyjailmuseum.com

to residents and those merely passing by. Stories of a jail’s inhabitants are told through the iron, concrete or plaster walls that bear their etchings, and tales of daring jail escapes are illustrated by repaired patches on the walls.

Sutton County’s 1891 jail in Sonora is a fine example of an early West Texas jail that experienced a vast transformation from the rugged and often violent frontier of the late 1800s to the more settled community known today. Constructed by the Pauly Jail Building and Manufacturing Company of limestone cut from the same quarry as the adjacent courthouse, tracing its history relies on surviving historic documents, historic markers, and firsthand accounts of the jails’ use from 1891 up to 1980.

Sonora became the county seat of Sutton County in 1890, but it would take nearly a year for a county jail to be built. Presented with this early quandary, law enforcement officials utilized a tree to anchor accused criminals. By the end of 1891 three institutions came to Sonora: The Devil’s River News, the 1891 Sutton County courthouse and the county jail. Each of these survives today and offers a share of the story of the county jail. Sonora’s Devil’s River News contains a wealth of information about the early era of the jail and its first inmates.

The jail’s first two inmates were notable. Both arrested for murder, John Denson and T. C. Adams are listed in the newspaper as the jail’s first two inhabitants in October 1891. One decade later in 1901 another noted gunman and desperado, Will Carver, found himself in the jail, not as an inmate, but in the jail’s morgue following a shootout with the Sutton County sheriff.

Scouring the crisp pages of historic newspapers provides interested parties contemporaneous accounts of the jail, but they also shed light on remnants of a jail’s occupation.

Elaine Donaldson of the Sutton County Historical Society relayed the story of a 1969 jailbreak that was executed with a hijacked pair of bolt cutters that a trustee snuck into his cell to bust through the steel wall of the second floor cell. Although

(Left) Indoor toilets and running water were minor consolations for inmates in an older jail. (Top) Iron cell wall before and after jailbreak attempt. Older image from the March 6th, 1969 issue of the Devil’s River News. (Middle) Exterior of the 1891 Sutton County Jail. | Courtesy Austin Allison.

(Bottom) Jailer’s residence appointed with period furniture inside the Clay County Jail. | Courtesy Jill Avis

this portal to unearned freedom was quickly patched following the incident, the repaired portion of the wall still serves as an extant structural exhibit highlighting a successfully engineered jailbreak.

When I visited the museum in June 2021, Nancy Johnson, also of the Historical Society, helped me locate this patched hole.

By 1977, the jail had fallen into disrepair and failed standards set by the Texas Jail Standards Commission. Sheriff Bill Webster in a 1977 issue of the Devil’s River News said, “the [old] jail is too small, too old and poorly designed to perform its function today.”

Visiting the jail on a climatically normal June morning, the second floor was sweltering and speaks to just one of the standards not met. A new jail was erected by 1980, and county residents began to repurpose the old jail as a museum. The initial effort to convert the jail to a museum did not last long, and the jail was used for storage for more than 30 years. By the mid-2010s, renewed efforts successfully renovated the jail, and it is still a feature on the county’s museum tour.

Clay County’s 1890 jail in Henrietta is another example of a Pauly Jail Building and Manufacturing Company that has found new life as a museum. Much larger than Sutton County’s example, the jail in Clay County was intended to house federal inmates as a federal facility. This never occurred, but remnants of its grand scale persist. A gallows was included in the original construction, but no one ever met their fate there.

As it stands today, the Clay County 1890 Jail Museum houses a variety of exhibits as well as the county’s historic archives, but jail life and the role of housing criminals remains the main focus of the museum. Through multiple capital fundraising efforts in the mid-1990s and late-2000s, the historical society was able to raise one million dollars to restore the jail into a satisfactory museum and archive.

Like many other county jails, the Clay County jail also served as a residence for jailers and sheriffs and their families. Jill Avis, vice president of the Clay County Historical FALL 2021

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Society, even noted that the sheriff and jailers, or more likely their wives, would cook meals for the inmates and be reimbursed by the county. This area of the museum is furnished to reflect a typical early 20th century residence. Jails are usually considered impersonal, isolated and dreary; the possibility of a home-cooked meal seems like an unexpected positive in a more than negative experience.

Life in a Texas county jail was difficult.

Indeed, there wasn’t much life to be had.

Whether it was the stifling heat in the summer or the grim conditions of the graffiti-laden cell blocks, inmates knew

they were in Texas and they knew they were in jail. As these structures aged and became unusable as functioning jails, local efforts rallied to preserve them. They often represent very early history and architecture of a county. With 254 counties, Texas is home to many jail museums across different landscapes and different genres of Texas history. Check out the list (right) for a jail museum near you or your travels.

Austin Allison is an assistant librarian at Texas Tech University’s Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library.

Morton Museum of Cooke County

210 South Dixon Street Gainesville, Texas 76240 (940) 668-8900

Freestone County Historical Museum 302 Main St. Fairfield, TX 75840 (903) 389-3738

freestonecomuseum.com Frio Pioneer Jail Museum Pecan and Medina Streets Pearsall, Texas 78061 (830) 334-4181

friopioneerjailmuseum.com

Calaboose African American History Museum 200 W Martin Luther King Dr San Marcos, Texas 78666 (512) 393-8421

calaboosemuseum.org

Jim Hogg County Old Jail Museum

105 E. Santa Clara Hebbronville, Texas 78361

hebbronvillemuseum.com Calaboose Museum

214 E Lavielle Street Kirbyville, Texas 75956 (409) 423-3028

Heart of Texas Historical Museum 117 N High St. Brady, TX 76825 (325) 597-0526

heartoftexasmuseum.com Old Jail Museum Complex 5th & Elm Palo Pinto, Texas 76484

palopintohistory.com/special-places/ 18-old-jail-museum-complex.html Sabine County Jail Museum 201 Main St. Hemphill, Texas 75948 (409) 787-1421

sabinecountytexas.com/Attractions.htm Historic Sutton County Jail and Ice House Ranch Museum 206 S. Water Ave. Sonora, TX 76950 (325) 387-3754

historicsuttoncounty.com/historicsutton-county-jail Old Mobeetie Jail Museum Olaughlin Street Mobeetie, Texas 79061 806-845-2028

facebook.com/OldMobeetieJail Museum/info 42

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Notes On Getting Lost The Corn Maze at At’l Do Farms

by Eric Simpson

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have spent most of my life actively avoiding being lost. I suppose it’s a desire to know where I am, and where I stand on things. I want to have thing figured out, and I want to know where I am going with life. I can imagine that many people, like myself, avoid being lost in this way. It’s an uncomfortable feeling not knowing where you are.

Perhaps being lost goes against a

2020’s maze design celebrating 20 years of sharing their love of farming and sharing their mazes with families all over the Lone Star State and beyond.

deep human nature that disrupts that thing we call “progress.”

There is a place where people go to get actively lost—lost with purpose that is. It exists outside the small town of Shallowater, Texas, just 5 miles north of Lubbock, on an 80-acre plot of land called At’l Do Farms. Every fall, thousands of people come out to get lost in a ten-acre field of corn. They meander, back track, turn around, and “trial and error”

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TEXAS MAZES Visit Lubbock visitlubbock.org At’l Do Farms

6323 FM 1294 Lubbock, TX 79415

atldofarms.com

Circle S Acres Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch 7305 Bean Road Wall, Texas 76957 (325) 276-2619

circlesacres.com Fiddlesticks Farm Fall Festival

5610 E. County Rd 120 Midland, TX 79706-5474 (432) 687-6293

Fiddlesticksfarms.com Graff 7A Ranch Fall Fun and The South Texas Maize 911 US Hwy 90 East Hondo, Texas 78861

graff7aranch.com

Lone Star Family Farm Fall Family Fun their way through miles of intricately cut paths.

It baffles me that people will do this. In fact, it baffles my parents too, James and Patti Simpson, who 21 years ago put those first corn seeds in the ground on what is now a third-generation farm. What started out to supplement production farming turned into a full time “agribusiness” something we didn’t even know existed. In doing so, our family took a risk that people would want to get lost, and it has paid off.

Aside from the unique opportunity of being lost, there are other reasons that people come out to At’l Do Farms.

The atmosphere of the farm requires us to slow down and enjoy simple things with the people we love. At’l Do Farms urges us to walk alongside nature and to realize that we are a part of it. Take a hayride out to the pumpkin patch with the bees and soil and find the best carving jack-o-lantern.

“Ooo” and “aww” at animals that are an important part of a working farm.

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(top) Archway: Enter At’l Do Farms for the ultimate fall adventure. (bottom left) Planting corn this summer to prepare for the 2021 season. (bottom right) James and Patti Simpson with their children Eric, Emilee and Allison.

with those you’re with. It’s all quite simple really. At’l Do Farms asks us to enjoy being present with others whether we find ourselves lost or not.

On September 11, 2021, we open to the public for our 21st fall season.

Looking back on the past 20 seasons I’ve come to learn something: we all approach problems from different directions. As I watch people work their way through the corn maze, I see those who take things head on, and those who take their time. Some people like to contemplate each decision, while others choose paths randomly.

Some folks are content to go in circles for hours, while others want clear direction. The diversity of how we get lost and how we collaborate, and problem solve together has enlightened me.

It shows that being lost is not a thing to fear, whether in life, or in a corn maze, and those that have the most fun, are often those who are content with being lost. “The world is round,” we often tell lost folks wandering in the maze. “You’ll get there eventually,” and eventually they do.

4199 Highway 67 Stephenville, TX 76401

lonestarfamilyfarm.com P-6 Farms Fall Days & Corn Maze

9963 Poole’s Road Montgomery, Texas 77356

p-6farms.com

The Robinson Family Farm Fall Days 3780 White Owl Lane Temple, TX 76501 (254) 931-9564

therobinsonfamilyfarm.com Rockin’ K Farms

5385 County Road 52 Robstown, Texas 78380 (361) 537-3308

rockinkmaze.com

Sweet Eats Fruit Farm Fall Festival Corn Maze & Pumpkin Festival

14400 E. State Highway 29 Georgetown, TX. 78626-2515 (512) 766-3276

sweeteats.com

LIFE

Eats & D r i n ks

Serving Up History with a Big Helping of Comfort Food Whistle Stop Café

by Jill Campbell Jordan

The beautiful Whistle Stop Café on the historic Meridian Highway in Decatur. | All photos courtesy Jovelyn Roden.

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hen planning a road trip during the 1920s, travelers had to do some careful planning. In those days, cars could not drive long distances without stopping for fuel, air and water. As a result, numerous gas stations popped up in rural and urban areas to help keep travelers moving along.

Many of these early gas stations went through an evolution of sorts over time. The first step began with gas pumps near a small building used to run the business. From there, a stand or counter with snacks and goods from

local farms might be added. Often, camping would be permitted and as money allowed, motor courts would be added. Finally, a place where weary travelers could sit down for a hot meal would be constructed as the crowning jewel. This is what happened at the Texas Tourist Camp complex in Decatur.

Just outside of downtown Decatur on State Highway 81, local businessman E.F. Boydston saw an opportunity in 1927 to turn what once was a feed lot into a place where he could start a lucrative business – a gas station. His business quickly grew into a complex that included

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Thanks to the hard work and dedication of history lovers, the Wise County Historical Society, and the Wise County Historical Commission, this site is designated as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark by the Texas Historical Commission (1995) and is on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior.

(top) You can’t miss the Texas Tourist Court Complex as you travel on Highway 81. It just begs for you to take a closer look. (bottom left) Up close look of the petrified wood on the gas station with the motel rooms in the background. Bonnie and Clyde are rumored to have stayed in one of the rooms.

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a gas station covered in petrified wood, five cabins, and a café.

During this time State Highway 81 was known as the Meridian Highway, one of the first major roadways that ran northsouth from one end of the United States to the other. According to the Texas Historical Commission, “The Meridian Highway is the foundation of one of the busiest and most significant transportation corridors in the nation.”

According to local legend, the infamous outlaws Bonnie and Clyde used the motel as a hideout: its location right on a major throughfare provided the outlaws a quick escape. People have come from far and wide to see it for themselves.

The café known first as the Texas Lunchroom and later the Texas Café was popular with the locals and travelers until it closed its doors in the 1960s. Business declined when a highway pass rerouted traffic from the area. The

DON’T MISS Visit Decatur decaturtx.com Whistle Stop Café

904 U.S. 287 Business Decatur, TX 76234 (940) 627-7785 Hours Mon.—Fri. 6am-2pm

whistlestopcaferestaurant.business.site

Decatur Town Square Decaturtownsquare.com Wise County Heritage Museum 1602 S Trinity St. Decatur, TX 76234 940-627-5586 Hours: Mon.—Sat. 10am-3pm Admission Charged

wisehistory.com

Boydston family owned and operated the gas station until 1988.

In 1993 the café reopened as the Whistle Stop Café and began serving up some of the best homestyle Texas cooking around. Open weekdays from 6:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m., the dedicated staff make everyone feel right at home. The menu covers everything from hamburgers to meatloaf to chicken fried chicken but the most popular

A delicious meal from the Whistle Stop Café featuring chicken fried chicken, green beans, macaroni and cheese, green beans, and gravy.

A couple of the pies you can try at the Whistle Stop Café.

dish is the chicken fried steak.

According to diner Shirley Laster, “You have to try the deserts, they are so good – especially the banana pudding.” Along with the banana pudding there is a variety of pies and cobblers. The Whistle Stop Café is a quaint place that serves up comfort food with a smile, so be sure to bring your appetite and leave room for dessert.

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The History of Watercolor in Texas

by Betty Bielser

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t’s a stretch, but if one thinks about the first watercolor paintings in Texas, one may consider it to be the cave art (petroglyphs) along the cliff walls of the Rio Grande River in Val Verde County and other parts of Texas; it is estimated this art dates between 3000 to 1000 BC, with the last done in the 1880s. Imagine the first Paleolithic human accidently sticks his hand in red mud, slaps it against the cliff wall, leaving his handprint. Hence, the first watercolor…ground minerals mixed with water.

Watercolor medium slipped quietly into Texas under the wings of several well-known artists in the early 19th century. The dried cakes of premixed watercolor were a “convenient” art form easily carried on location to paint studies of Texas scenery. These studies would be brought back to the 48

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artists’ studios to be used as a reference to paint their oil masterpieces. Today, some of these studies are valuable jewels.

That was especially true of San Antonio native Julian Onderdonk (1882-1922), who is known as the best landscape artist in Texas and the father of bluebonnet paintings.

Some were painted on location in oil, but most of his masterpieces were oils painted in his studio from watercolor images. His studio, which was in a log cabin, now resides on the grounds of the Witte Museum. Today those watercolor sketches, along with a few of Onderdonk’s watercolor paintings are in collections. He died at the peak of his success of acute appendicitis.

A young Georgia O’Keeffe moved from New York City to live in Canyon, Texas, where she was the chair of the art

department at the West Texas State Normal College from 1916 to 1918. Most of her works during these years were en plein air (in the open air) and were watercolor sketches of scenery around the area. Unfortunately, very few of the almost 200 sketches survived her move back to New York.

They were shipped to her in a barrel and when they arrived, she threw them in the trash outside her apartment. A few blew out of the trash and were picked up down the street… eventually finding their way into museums.

In 1949, two watercolor painters living in San Antonio decided to advance the popularity of painting in watercolor.

Margaret Pace Willson and Amy Freeman Lee, along with a few others, formed the Texas Watercolor Society. They created an annual exhibition for Texas watercolor artists that was juried by nationally recognized artists and offered $100 for first place. The exhibitions were held at the Witte Memorial Museum for the next 20 years. Now the exhibitions are held in venues around Texas, open to all watercolor artists over 18 years of age and the first-place winner receives $2,000. The Texas Watercolor Society is the oldest watercolor society in Texas and is a non-profit organization with a membership of over 300.

Edgar A. Whitney (1891-1987), a watercolor artist and teacher from the New York area, came to Dallas in the early 1960s to conduct watercolor workshops. From his students, came two enthusiastic watercolor painters, Harwood K. Smith (1913-2002) and Naomi Brotherton (1920- ), who established the Southwestern Watercolor Society, which still thrives today with over 400 active members. Harwood Smith became a well-known architect in Dallas. Naomi Brotherton continued her career in watercolor becoming a Signature member in twelve different societies in eight

(far left) Betty’s watercolor painting, “Front Porch in Art, Texas”. Yes, there really is an Art, Texas. (top left) “Artist in Action”. Betty took a photo of this during the 2018 EnPlein Air Texas in San Angelo. It is of Thomas Jefferson Kitts, artist, while he was painting a demo, using Betty’s husband, Ken Rousch, as his subject. (top right) Betty during the Burnet Plein Air Festival, taken by photographer, Debbie Slangal.

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states, teaching workshops and co-authoring “Variations in Watercolor”.

Naomi is still celebrating her birthdays.

Other watercolor societies around Texas include the Watercolor Society of South Texas, founded in 1970; the Society of Watercolor Artists, based in Fort Worth; the Watercolor Art Society-Houston, founded in1975 with over 700 members and has a year-round gallery in the Museum District; and the Central Texas Watercolor Society, Waco, founded in 1985. Organized in 1977 for the advancement of water media, the Waterloo Watercolor Group is a non-profit group in Austin with almost 400 members.

These organizations have contributed to more artists learning to paint in watercolor and the acceptance of their paintings in galleries and museums. Although John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) never spent time in Texas, we won’t hold that against him because he loved watercolor. He painted more than 2,000 watercolor

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paintings, most plein air, compared to 900 oils and his techniques are still used today. In 2014, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston honored Sargent with a special showing of 90 of his watercolor paintings. A group of us made the trip and were mesmerized.

The ebb and flow of watercolor’s popularity in the marketplace continues to flow in the 21st century.

Proof of that is the upswing of watercolor artists entering Plein Air Competitions, which are popping up all over the state. In 2006, I painted in the first plein air competition in Marble Falls, which was in conjunction with the Bluebonnet Music Festival.

Two years later, that event became “Paint the Town”. I’ve participated every year as the only watercolor artist, until about five years ago. In 2018, Lee Ricks from Pleasanton won First Place with a watercolor!

Competing in plein air competitions has become the latest in career opportunities for professional artists.

During the season, they stay “on the road” going from one plein air event to

another around the country, selling their paintings and hopefully winning award money. One of the top five plein air competitions in the country is San Angelo’s EnPlein Air Texas.

Abiding with Covid-19 regulations, the 2020 competition was held October 24-31 and four watercolor paintings won awards, one being the Grand Prize winner, “Peace on the River” by Susan Lynn. Oh, happy days for her and all watercolor artists!

There are too many wonderful present day watercolor artists around Texas to name them for fear of leaving out one of my favorites. Just know most watercolorists thank God every day for the opportunity to share our passion with others.

Betty Bielser switched from painting in oils to watercolor about 40 years ago and has not been disappointed since. She is the First Vice President of the Highland Arts Guild in Marble Falls.

The Old Jail Art Center A West Texas Treasure

by Loretta Fulton

DON’T MISS Visit Albany albanytexas chamberofcommerce. wordpress.com The Old Jail Art Center

201 South 2nd Street Albany, TX 76430 (325) 762-2269 Hours: Tues.—Sat. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Free admission

theojac.org

T

oday, the Old Jail Art Center in Albany is known for names like Pablo Picasso, Paul Klee, Amedeo Modigliani, Grant Wood, and other famed artists whose works are on display.

But in its previous life as Shackelford County’s first permanent jail, the structure was known for other names, or more specifically for initials and marks which gave it the nickname, “the alphabet jail.” Those initials and symbols were carved into the limestone blocks by the Scottish stonemasons who built the jail, which opened in 1878.

The “M” and “E” engraved in the stone blocks are known to be the initials of stonemasons named “McGuire” and “Emery,” according to the OJAC’s website. An “X” and a triangle are believed to be the marks of illiterate stonemasons.

A full name can be found scratched into the east wall of the upper east room of the jail building. It was that of John Hayden, who was born in Albany in 1899. He was indicted on June 8, 1923, at the age of 24 for assault with intent to murder. “John remained in the ‘old’ jail’ for 18 months, came to trial, and was found not guilty,” according to information from Molly Sauder, archivist and librarian for the center.

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Other names associated with the old jail—but not etched into stone—are those of the sheriffs charged with keeping the peace while the jail was in use. And that was more than a full-time job.

According to information from the Texas Historical Commission, the nearby town of Fort Griffin,

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also known as The Flats or Hide Town, “was considered one of the West’s five wildest towns with streets thronging with soldiers, buffalo hunters, drovers, gamblers, saloon girls, surveyors, outlaws, clerks, merchants and ranchers.”

The first sheriff to serve in the

(upper left) The Shackelford County Jail in the 1800s. (upper top) Old Jail Art Center as it stands today. (upper bottom) John Hayden’s name carved into the wall of the museum.

“old jail” was W.R. ‘Bill” Cruger, who was appointed on March 20, 1877, and elected on November 5, 1878. He served until November 2, 1880. The last sheriff in office while the jail was in use was W.E. Goodman, who was elected on November 6, 1928, not long before the jail was abandoned in 1929. Goodman was re-elected two more times and served – in a new jail – until January 1, 1935.

In 1940, Robert E. Nail Jr., author of the lively “Fort Griffin Fandangle” outdoor pageant, bought the old jail building for $25 and later purchased the land it stood on for $325. It wasn’t until 1980 that the Old Jail Art Center (OJAC) opened with four collections.

From the original $9,000 jail – a price tag that outraged taxpayers – to today’s art center that is among a select group of museums to be accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, the OJAC is a treasure on the West Texas prairie.

Strolling through the OJAC’s 17,000 square feet of exhibition and educational space, visitors can get lost in the magical world of Picasso, Modigliani, Wood, and many other artists. But history buffs can also get lost in the world of “M” and “E” or maybe even John Hayden.

All it takes is a little imagination.

Billy the Kid Breakout Show The teenage outlaw of the Southwest comes to Texas

by Wendy Little

DON’T MISS Billy the Kid Breakout Shows

Held every 3rd Sunday at 1 p.m. & 3 p.m. at the Old El Paso County Jail Museum in the San Elizario Historic District 1551 Main St., San Elizario (915) 830-2563

Visit El Paso VisitElPaso.com San Elizario Historic Distric http://www.sanelizariohistoricdistrict.com More about The Pistorleros facebook.com/pistolerosdesanelizarioreenactors/ Cultural Heritage Society of the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro culturalheritage society.com

B

illy the Kid was one of several aliases, but he was born Henry McCarty in 1859. McCarty’s trouble with the law started in New Mexico when he was about 16. Committing petty crimes got him arrested and jailed several times early on, and on one of these occasions he escaped, and fled to Arizona which made him a fugitive. Soon after, he murdered a man in Arizona which made him a wanted man there, so back to New Mexico he went.

Back in New Mexico he laid low for a time to avoid being arrested again.

But then in 1876, he received a telegram about his friend Meliquiades Segura, who was jailed in San Elizario, El Paso County, Texas. McCarty (then going by William H. Bonney) was known for his jail breaking skills, so he set a plan to help his buddy. Rumor has it that it was ultimately his (alleged) girlfriend

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Abrana Segura, that pressured him to go. McCarty and another man, John Mackey, travelled on horseback from Mesilla, New Mexico, through the night, arriving in San Elizario in the wee hours of the morning.

When they arrived at the jail, McCarty banged on the door claiming to be a Texas Ranger with a prisoner to turn over. The jailer opened the door to find McCarty and Mackey, guns drawn, ordering him to release Segura. They locked the jailer in a cell and escaped without a scratch.

The three outlaws hightailed it to the Rio Grande (about a mile away) and hid out across the bor-

der for a time, then Segura headed to interior Mexico and McCarty returned to New Mexico.

McCarty earned the name of Billy the Kid, the infamous outlaw and gunslinger by murdering many men (histories differ on exactly how many - possibly over 20), fighting in the Lincoln County War, and breaking out of jail multiple times. After being tried and convicted of one of the murders, “The Kid”, was meant to be hanged, but escaped once again. He was later shot dead by Sheriff Pat Garret in Fort Sumner, New Mexico in 1881, at the age of 21.

Billy the Kid broke out of jail many times, but there’s only this

Before restoration interior and exterior | Courtesy Library of Congress

The First El Paso County Jail in San Elizario, Texas.

Constructed ca. 1850.

Designated as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1970. The old jail was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997 as part of the San Elizario Historic District. It is located on El The Pistoleros of San Elizario performing the Billy the Kid Breakout Shows | Photos courtesy Al Borrego

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Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail.

The Pistoleros of San Elizario performing the Billy the Kid Breakout Shows | Photos courtesy Al Borrego Old El Paso County Jail after restoration | Photos courtesy C. Hanchey

one account of him breaking into jail, and according to legend, the Kid freed the only man to ever escape from the old El Paso County Jail. One hundred forty years after his death, you can see a re-enactment of this event at the old El Paso County Jail, in San Elizario, performed every 3rd Sunday by the local group “The Pistoleros de San Elizario.”

Al Borrego, President of the Cultural Heritage Society of the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, who has been the host and narrator of the show for 11 years, says, “we want to be true to the history so we give a historical account at the beginning, but the actual event lasted maybe only 2 minutes, and that wouldn’t be much fun for the crowd. After the factual presentation, I tell the actors to rewind, and they walk backwards to the start. We then do what I call the Hollywood version complete with audience participation as witnesses, girls from the local brothel, and a Matrix-style shoot out where the gunfighters are in slow motion and catch bullets with their hands. In reality there were never any shots fired.”

Regarding the Billy the Kid Breakout Show, Borrego says, “of all of the notorious crimes that he committed, this event was actually pretty boring, so we make it fun for the audience. We have a lot of families with kids that come, and everyone has a great time. I like to add humor, so we all have a good laugh.”

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T e xas o r i g i nals

T e xas Stat e L i b rary & Ar ch i v e s

T e xas H i sto r i cal Com m i ss i on

Documenting Texas outlaws.

Tour cultural sites in Clifton before bedding down in jail.

Representing the law in Texas’ largest county— Sheriff Carl Williams.

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o r i g i nals

Carl C. Williams

by Randall Kinzie

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sing the words of noted historian Lonn Taylor in his forward for retired sheriff Carl Williams’ book: More than a Badge; Rough Country, the Law and Me, Taylor writes; “To meet him you would never think that 50 years ago he served as the sheriff of the largest and one of the most lawless counties in Texas.”

Born in Marfa in 1934, Carl Williams spent his formative years in Presidio, Marfa, Alpine and Fabens, then served 35-plus years in law enforcement. After earning a degree at Sul Ross, Williams became a Deputy Sheriff in El Paso County. Subsequently he was accepted to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Highway Patrolman Academy. Upon gradua58

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tion from the academy, he was assigned to Van Horn and in the late 1950’s was transferred to Alpine. In 1964 Carl ran and won his first race for the Brewster County Sheriff’s office. In 1970 Carl became one of the first members of the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Education and moved to Midland where he still resides.

Recently I had the opportunity to visit with this authentic “Texas Personality.”

THE MAN Carl Williams was not, by any measure, an imposing Texas sheriff. He’s average in height, average in weight, and most times amicable.

Most times.

Sheriff Carl Williams was a keeper of the

BREWSTER COUNTY

MOUNTAIN TRAIL REGION

(far left) Carl Williams with his Sheriff’s vehicle from the early 60s (right) Carl Williams book, More than a Badge: Rough Country, the Law & Me

peace. Part of his demeanor was his ability to form relationships and clearly communicate. He represented the law. He became sheriff at the request of influential individuals who wanted to see a more modern approach to law enforcement at the time. He did win the election. “I always wanted to be a sheriff! As sheriff, you are part of the community.”

HIS METHOD Sheriff Williams knew how to take charge. Whether it was a drunk who was wielding a weapon and threatening to kill someone, a domestic dispute that had a whole neighborhood up in the middle of the night or serving a warrant on a local bad actor known for whipping cops, Sheriff Williams never lost.

“One night there was a dance and inside there was this actor who had a rifle, drunk, threatening to shoot anyone including my deputies and other lawmen. He pretty much had everyone cornered. I arrived, walked in and gave him his options: give me the gun and get in the car, you’re going to jail.

I had to repeat myself one more time.

To the astonishment of all the patrons and lawmen, he put the gun down, dropped his head, and we walked to the car, no issue.”

I asked Carl what it was about him, that he could get these kinds of results.

His answer, “no fear.”

HIS COUNTY Brewster County is the largest county in Texas and in 1965, the entire population might have numbered 7,700 citizens, with the town of Alpine home to most of the county’s residents.

The rest lived along the river boundary, Big Bend National Park, along with several other small communities.

This part of the county, to some people, represented the frontier. A no man’s land. To him, it was part of his duty and he made sure to maintain good relationships. “Back then the river only represented a barrier, not a boundary.”

We talked about an unsolved crime on his watch. In a somber, somewhat resigned tone, the Sheriff said, “Chartreuse Lady. We found an unidentified body and worked tirelessly to gain an identity. We used a doll and the clothing to re-create the dress she died in. No person could provide a clue and by the time DNA collection was viable, the bones had already been disposed.”

When I arrive on the scene, it’s my ball game!

Closure is really important for both the investigator and the victim’s family.

For more on Sheriff Carl Williams, his book More than a Badge: Rough Country, the Law and Me was published in 2018 and is available at many bookstores around the state as well as for purchase online. Part I of the book is biographical with stories of Williams’ life and career in law enforcement. Part II is a history of all the sheriffs of Brewster County, a gallery of some of those who worked with Williams and concludes an “End of Watch” section for those who served in the Trans-Pecos area.

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TEXAS STATE LIBRARY & ARCHIVES

Bonnie and Clyde Not-So-Hidden in the State Archives

L

awlessness was a major issue during the second administration of Texas Governor Ma Ferguson. Upon taking office for a second time in January 1933 (having previously served 19251927), she fired the Texas Rangers for their support of Governor Sterling in the 1932 election. The new governor replaced them with political appointees, some of whom used their status as law enforcement officers as a cover for gambling operations, theft, embezzlement, and even murder. Respect for law enforcement plummeted, and Texas became known as a sanctuary for gangsters and bank robbers.

None were more famous than Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker of Dallas. Beginning in 1932, Bonnie and Clyde and several others formed a gang which perpetrated a series of violent holdups in the 60

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Clyde Barrow Wanted Poster, 1933. Applications for pardons, Texas Secretary of State executive clemency records. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

by Susan Floyd

Southwest and Midwest, murdering a dozen people in the process. They were constantly on the run, committing one robbery after another while staying one step ahead of the law. As the manhunt intensified, Governor Ferguson’s mail bag was full of helpful suggestions from citizens on how to catch the notorious pair. Correspondence such as a 1934 letter from one W.D. Hawkins in our archives, provides an invaluable snapshot of public opinion in the past.

Barrow had a previous history of running afoul of the law. A convict ledger in the State Archives documents individuals who entered the State prison system. Barrow is one of those documented, assigned convict number 63527. His entry details his appearance, drinking habits, the nature of his crime, and fate (up to that time). Convict ledgers

(right) Clyde Barrow Wanted Poster, 1933. Applications for pardons, Texas Secretary of State executive clemency records. (far right) Warrant of authority for Frank Hamer, 1931. Regular Rangers service records, Texas Adjutant General’s Department service records.

are excellent sources for genealogical information about the persons listed.

Finally, Governor Ferguson and the head of the Texas prison system hired former Texas Ranger Frank Hamer to track down the outlaws. On May 24, 1933, Hamer tracked Bonnie and Clyde to Arcadia, Louisiana, where he arranged an ambush. As has been immortalized in numerous stories, songs, and films, Bonnie and Clyde were killed in a barrage of 167 bullets.

Nearly 100 years later, Parker and Barrow remain among Texas’s most infamous outlaws. Though they tried to hide, these historical records are not hidden—on the contrary, they are among the thousands of historical documents, photographs, film, and more that the team at the State Archives works to preserve, describe, and make available to the public 365 days a year. These and other items can be browsed in the permanent online exhibits on the TSLAC website at www.tsl.texas.gov/lobbyexhibits.

Millions more records can be accessed online for free in the Texas Digital Archive at www.tsl.texas.gov/texasdigitalarchive.

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TEXAS HISTORICAL COMMISSION

Grand Slammer Heritage Travelers Spend the Night Behind Bars in Clifton

by Andy Rhodes

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ave you ever deliberately tried to spend a night in jail? And gladly paid for the experience? In Clifton, heritage travelers can do just that.

Hidden in an alley of this central Texas historic downtown is an unassuming concrete building built in the early 1930s that once served as an overflow jail. Now known as the Cell Block, this unexpectedly welcoming jail makes it a pleasure to be behind bars.

Local resident Kaye Robinson Callaway had always been intrigued by the small building, which had become dingy and forgotten by the early 2010s. After walking past it 62

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countless times, she realized it could be repurposed into a miniature boutique hotel for travelers interested in a distinctive lodging experience.

She set to work contacting local preservationists, town leaders, and Clifton’s Main Street program about her adaptive-reuse project. She developed a proposal outlining economic and cultural benefits, and made efforts to involve community members with its construction and outreach.

The Cell Block officially opened in 2014, with a bright coat of white paint and crisp black detailing. Since then, guests have been treated to a high-quality lodging experience, from quality bedding and stylish furniture to a ret-

ro-styled record player with jailthemed albums, to bottles of local whiskey and wine. A rooftop patio with a gas fire pit offers a quiet place to watch the sunset.

Callaway is also responsible for the colorful attractions surrounding the Cell Block, known as Art Alley. These bright and bold murals with regional references help visitors experience local history and art exhibits in an otherwise-underutilized alley.

Just down the street is the historic 1916 Cliftex Theatre, which still shows current movies. The theater owners saved many of the historic details, including a few rows of the original 16-inch-wide seats in the front rows.

Around the corner is Avenue D, an inviting collection of charming historic Main Street buildings. Heritage travelers can drop by the visitor’s center (Norwegian flags fly in front, reflecting the region’s cultural heritage), browse through several antique shops, or spend the night at the Screen Door Inn, which occupies the circa-1900 Brooks Building.

It’s worth heading a few minutes across town to visit the Bosque Arts Center, housed in the stately 1923 administration building of the former Clifton Lutheran College. The arts center includes a significant collection of Western art, a live theater, and community art classes.

Just around the corner from the Bosque Arts Center is the impressive Bosque Museum, which showcases the area’s distinction as the Norwegian Capital of Texas. The collection’s most famous artifact is a hand-made rocking chair by one of the region’s Norwegian pioneers. Additional exhibits contain folk art, instruments, and photographs.

In nearby Meridian, the city’s proud downtown centerpiece is the 1886 Bosque County Courthouse, a remarkable three-story Victorian Gothic Revival building with an Italianate clock tower and corner turrets. The building was meticulously restored through the Texas Historical Commission’s Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program in 2007.

DON’T MISS Visit Clifton visitclifton.org Cell Block

120 Clifton Art Alley Clifton TX 76634 (254) 227-5656

stayatthecellblock.com Cliftex Theatre

306 W 5th St. Clifton, TX 76634 (254) 75.1229

cliftextheatre.com Screen Door Inn 110 N. Ave. D Clifton TX 76634 (254) 675- 7829

screendoorinn.com Bosque Arts Center

215 College Hill Drive Clifton, Texas 76634 (254) 675-3724 Hours Mon-Fri: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Saturday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

bosqueartscenter.org Bosque Museum

301 S. Ave. Q Clifton, TX 76634 (254) 675-3845 (254) 675-3820 Hours: Thur.—Sat. 10am-5pm Sun. 12pm–5pm

bosquemuseum.org

Bosque County Courthouse 110 S Main St. Meridian, TX 76665

(far left) The Cell Block boutique hotel in Clifton. (top) The bedroom in The Cell Block. (middle) The Cliftex historic theater in downtown Clifton. (bottom) The Bosque County courthouse clock tower.

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